1997
A C S A E U R O P E A N CONFERENCE
*
BERLIN
T H E STATE OF T H E ART AND
T H E ART OF T H E STATE
AKBAR'S A M B I T I O N TO BRIDGE
E "REALM A N D
RELIGION" IN T H E ARTS A N D THE STATE
SAMlA RAB
Georgia Institute of Technology
Introduction
Akbar was 14 years old when he succeeded the
throne from his father, Emperor Hummayun. At the time,
the Mughal Empire did not possess a definite territory.
Five years later, Akbar firmly held the districts of Punjab
and Multan, Ajmer in Rajistan, the Ganga and Jamuna
basin as far east as Allahbad, and also Gwalior in Central
India. At the time of his death, some 50 years later, the
Mughal Empire was firmly secured on a vast territory that
stretched from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian sea.
In terms of the nature of activities, Akbar's reign
(1 556-1605) can be divided into three phases. During the
first phase, roughly between the years 1556-1669,Akbar
was busy expanding the territories of the empire along
with experimenting various ways to provide a workable
revenue system and an administrative framework for the
empire. The resulting regulations have been regarded by
many economic theorists as well ahead of its time.' Even
the British retained these standards during their nile over
the Indian Subcontinent and, to a certain extent, they still
form the basis for the provincial division of India and
Pakistan. Once Akbar had conquered and secured his
throne, he started to transform the legal mechanism of
the Empire. This transformation finallyresulted inAkbar1s
historic attempt to merge the " t n ~ e "principles of all
religions practiced in his empire into a form of a Divine
Monotheism, the Din-i-IZahi.
Akbar was the grandson of Babur and the son of
Hummayun. But he had to fight for his inheritance and
put the Empire together piece by piece, annexing kingdom
after kingdom. The task of acquiring dominion over
different regions and territories was not as difficult for
him as remaining in power. Akbar devoted his "heart,
soul, mind and body" to this later task. Many historians
have argued that Akbar did not inherit his
grandfather'spassion for nature and gardens, nor his
father's love of poetry and painting. According to E. B.
Havell, Akbar did not concern himself intimately with the
art of building and art was not his dominant passion or his
chief recreation.* But the accounts of Akbar's biographer,
Abu Fazl,' and the court historian, BadauniQontradicts
this commonly held view. Abu Fazl's Akbarnama and
Badauni's Tarikh-i-Badauni are the two most crucial
sources to understand the way in which Akbar ruled his
kingdom and the extent of his involvement In the
architecture of his reign. These two writers often:
contradict each other but they stili reveal those aspecs
of Akbar's reign that were crucial to define the
characteristics of his architecture.
Crucial literary sources of Akbar's period:
Abu Far1 and Badayuni
Abu Fazl, during his time in the court, became
Akbar's close praises his every act and thought. Abu Fazl
was actively involved in working out the details of the
Din-i-Zlahi with Akbar and was the one who actual!?performed the ceremony for converting people to the
new religion. Badauni, on the other hand, regarded
almost all acts and thoughts of Akbar and his ministers
with immense aversion and frankly expresses them in his
historical account. His Tarikh-e-Badauni is a general
history of India (from Ghaznavides to the fortieth year of
Akbar's reign). These two writers provide more than o m
source c o n f i g A k b a r l sinvolvement in his archirect~ral
projects. Both writers acknowledge the fact that Akbar
selected the chiefMohandis (architect) himself and gave
a verbal account of the kind of building he wanted. And
both have remarked that by the end of the Gtrftcqo
(discussion) the Nohandis knew exactly what the
Emperor had in mind. Another aspect that borhXhu Fazi
and Badauni acknowledge is that, in the architectural
activities of the kingdom, Akbar encouraged the use af
local building materials and the living traditions of Indian
artisans. These were, to a certain extent, ignored and
even looked down upon by Babur and H u m m a ) ~ ~ n .
There were some key issues that deeply concercec!
&bar throughout his life. Bridging the gap between
"realm and religion" was one such issue, as it appears
frequentlyin theilkbarnama and the Tarikh-e-Rnda~ai~r.
There could have been several influences on hkbar's
quest for bridging the gap between "realm and religion".
This paper touches upon three major influences: 1) the
dialectic of religion in his life; 2) Akbar's early learning of
the Sufi order; and 3) his contacts with the Portuguese
Ambassador and the Jesuit missions.
In his youth, Akbar had the tendency of rationalizing
his inherited religion, Islam, to an extent that he would
indulge in severe arguments with his custodians. As
Hummayun's sister, Gulbadan, w r o t e i n h e r
autobiography, Akbar had always been very restless at
heart. He would spend much time in sports and training
for warfare. When it came to formal education, he refuted
each one of his father's attempts. The fact that Humayun
was constantly in exile and absent during Akbar's formative
years made a formal education even more difficult. The
only tutor Akbar agreed to study with was an Irani
scholar, Mir Abdul Latif, who belonged to the family of
Sayeds of Qazvin. Abdul Latif was a Sufi and, therefore,
very open minded and willing to question and debate his
to B ~ r k ehe
, ~was called
own religious belief~.~According
a "Shiah in India and a Sunni in Iran." Abdul Latif taught
Akbar the principle of "peace with all" by seeking to
understand the inherent qualities of all sects and races
prevalent in h ~ m a n i t y . ~
Despite his growing quest for knowledge, Akbar
remained "illiterate"for the remainder of his life. Abu Fazl
tells us that the Shahinshah has an amazing memory and
his favorite pastime is to listen to the biographies of his
ancestors - Timur, Babur, and Humayun. He had
practically memorized them before he turned twenty. In
the subsequent years, however, Akbar made up for his
lack of formal education by maintaining a library of
24,000 manuscripts and had books read to him regularly
and kept "constant company with learned and literate
men." He often cited the example of the Prophet's
illiteracy and proclaimed that every Muslim should keep
one of his children away from formal education.
The company of learned men often lead to discussions
that Badauni found both "polemical" and "dangerousn8.
To Abu Fazl they were "enlightened" and a characteristic
manner in which the Shahinshah could grasp the good in
all men." Of course, we have to be careful of both these
accounts - Badauni's because of his intense aversion to
the religious tolerance of the Shahinshah and Abu Fazl
because of his tendency to flatter the Shahinshah. Abu
Fazl's flattering account attempts t o lift the Shahinshah
from mere humanity to supernatural status because he
finds in Akbar a coherence ofNiyat and Ikhlaq (intention
and behavior/manner).
The discussion on issues of "realm and
religion" in Akbar's court
In Abu Fazl's account, the description of the various
reforms initiated by the Shahinshah Akbar are almost
always followed by a discussion or a verse in praise of his
ability to resolve the gap between "realm and religion."
Abu Fazl never defines these two words but one can get
a sense from the several contexts they serve and within
which they are used, that "realm"means the governmental
affairs of the kingdom's subject and "religion" concerns
their spiritual affairs. Describing Akbar's regulations
regarding the Krorilo revenue and administrative system,
Abu Fazl writes: "The world's lord (Akbar) every now and
then augments his circumspection, and imparts new
freshness to the garden of the State ... In a short time the
outer world attained an excellent management and the
spiritual world a new development. There was, as it
were, a new palace constructed for the appreciativeness
of the sovereign, and humanity was tested in the square
of knowledge. " I 1
The testing of the "square of knowledge," for Akbar,
was not limited to the affairs of the "realm" (government);
however, it did commence here. We know from
Gulbadan's autobiography that t h e Akbar first
demonstrated an "academic" interest by listening to the
memoirs of his ancestors. He spent most of his formative
years in exile and captivity. His uncles placed him in
custody for the first three years of his life. Once Humayun
re conquered his throne, Akbar saw his uncles being
punished, but none of them was executed. Each time
1997
ACSA EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
Sr
BERLIN
their lives were pardoned, they became governors of
certain districts. But each time the three uncles would
rebel against Humayun generating circumstances that
would force him in exile. When Akbar ascended the
throne, his first act in the affairs of the government was
to appoint Bairam Khan, an Iranian belonging to the Shiah
sect of Islam, as the Wazir-i-Azam.I2In so doing, the
Shahinshah made sure that the person who was second
in command to him was a minority within the court.
Hence, he would depend directly on the Emperor to
retain his position. This seems to have became one of the
characteristic ways in which Akbar appointed ministers
and Adils in his court.
We have to recognize here that Akbar inherited this
tolerance towards the Shiah sect from Babur and from
H~imayun.'~
Babur's tolerance of Shiahs was partly
consequential. At the time, Shah Ismail of Iran was the
only support Babur had to enable him in heading towards
India. Babur had been motivated early in his life to
"possesHindustan as it was once possessed by his ancestor
Timur." For him, it was lost heritage and he was ready to
pay any price to d o so. Once in Hindustan, Babur found
the country and its people "charmless" and overly
mysterious and the manner of their livelihood
"disorderly."'"e,
by all means, wanted to change what
he saw and found charmless. The disciplined simplicity
that was characteristic of the several gardens constructed
by Babur are witness to his attempts of ordering the
Hindustan he conquered. Both Babur and Humayun
differed from Akbar in the nature and intent of their
conquests of India - the former kings saw their attempts
as an imperial extension of the Timurid Empire in an alien
land. Akbar, on the other hand, was forming a kingdom
that was inherently Indian.
Akbar realized that his Empire was ethnically,
religiously, linguistically diverse and ingrained in its own
traditional belief system^.'^ He was also aware that in
order to sustain power over such a kingdom, it was
important to retain both political and religious authority
within the Monarchy and specifically within the powers
of the Emperor. This task was officially carried out in a
ceremony where the court Ulemas signed and authorized
the Mazhar in 1579 affirming the authority of Sultan-iAdil over the Mujtahid.I6 The Shahinshah would, hence
onwards, act as the Peshwa of the spiritual kingdom. The
Mazharcites the verse of Quran, which enjoins obedience
to those who have authority over others, and the tradition,
which states that whoever obeys the ruler in effect obeys
God. What it does not cite, as Badauni asserts with great
aversion, is the fact that the Peshwa does not lead the
spiritual kingdom; it is the Mujtahid who does that. The
Mujtahid and Peshwa represent distinct authorities which
Akbar merged into one form: that of his own. No doubt,
there was a tremendous resentment to this act from the
Sunni members of the court. Nevertheless, they did
confirm the Mazhar and sanction the inscription of
political and religious authority on the Emperor's own
body. Thus realizing Akbar's long-held quest to bridge the
gap between "realm and religion" by becoming the
mediating figure between the two realms.
The arrival of the Portugese merchants
and the Jesuit Mission at Akbar's court
Many contemporary historians of the Muglaa! Empire
311
have suggested that the confirmation of the .%fazha~
1577 was influenced by the arrival of theJesuit Mission in
Akbar's court on F e b n ~ a18,
~ 1580. These historians
tend to ignore the fact that much before the arrival of the
Jesuit Mission, Akbar was in contact with Portrrgese
merchants. We know that at the time Akbar ascended the
throne in 1556,the Portuguese were strongly establ~sted
on the western coast in fortified settlements taken frorr~
the Deccm, and situated at Goa Their fleet controlled the
mercantile and pilgrim traffic of the Ambian Sea and
Persian Gulf."
Akbar's first contact with Portuguese merchants a;
Cambay was in 1572 I X In 1S78, the Viceroy, Dom Diogo
de Menzes, responded to Akbar's letter by accrediting t o
Akbar's court as his ambassador Antonio Cabral. He spent
some time in Fatehpur Sikri with Akbar and gare the
emperor considerable information concerning Christian
manners and customs emperor. "But, being a layman, Ihe
was not in a position to expound with authority ;he
deeper matters of the faith."19If &bar's enthusiasm f ~ r
inviting the Missions came after meeting thelambassador,
then perhaps it is the custon~sand manners of the
Christian state that appealed to him before an interest iil
the Christian faith.
It is well established that the central metaphor of
early modern European political discourse was that of the
"body politics." Since it was thought to be self-evicten:
that no body could be divided into conlpctingintercsts of
factions without risking the life of the whoie, it foliowed
that only aunitary and hierarchical organization ofsocieil;could achieve peace and prosperity. "The life of the
organism depended on the integration of the pan-ts; s o .
too, the good of the whole required the rule of one.""'
The absolutist Christian rulers in Europe insisted thst tht.
power, rights, and interests of the nation w e r e
coterminous with the person of the king. We do not
know what exactly the Ambassador and Akhar discussed
about the manners and customs of the Christian state.
What we do know is that in 1579, by affirming the
Mazhar, the court Ulemas sanctioned the political and
religious authority of the Mughal Emperor."
The merging of the hitherto distinct authorities of
"realmand religion" influenced the architecture oflikbas's
reign in both a general and a specific way. In general
Akbar's policy of tolerance towards all religious sects and
ethnic races encouraged an uninhibited interaction of
different regional styles. At a more specific l a e l , the
buildingsthatwere constructed under Akbar's supervision
echo his quest to merge the "realm and religion."
The architecture of Akbar's new capital at
Fatehpur Sikri
The construction of Fatehpur Sikri as a suburban
fortified residence of the court was Akbar's arclaitectural
response to the absorption of Gujarat into the Mugh;ri
Empire (1572-73). According to Ebha Koch. the irregdar
layout of Fatehpur Sikri reflects the tradition of RajpuK
RERLlN
*
ACSA EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
Fig. 3. The layout of Fetehpur Sikri; 1: Jami Mosque; 2.
Diwan-i-Aam; 3. Diwan -1Khas. (Source: A. Petrucioli,
1988).
residences." It is also difficult to ignore the influence of
Gujrati Sultanate architecture, which in itself provided a
model for a successf~~l
synthesis of the building traditions
of pre-Islamic Hindu and Jain architecture. The choice of
red sandstone provided a umfyinghue to the unrestrained
synthesis of distinct regional styles.
Fatehpur Sikri was no doubt Akbar's most ambitious
architectural project. This new capital city near the
village of Sikri, 26 miles from Agra, was to mark the
birthplace of his longed-for sons, Salim (Jehangir) and
Murad. This was also the site of the Sufi Saint Chisti who
predicted the birth of the royal princes. InAbuFazllswords,
"the Shahinshah's holy heart desired to give outward
splendor to this spot which possessed spiritualgrandeur. "Z3
The greater part of the palace-city was planned and
begun in 1569 and proceeded with much speed. Nearly
seven miles in circumference, the city is built on a rocky
sandstone ridge running northeast to southwest. There
were at the most nine gates, of which only four still exist.
The visitor, entering by the Agra Gate at the northeast
corner, goes through the bazar, passes under the music
gallery, Naubat Khana, and proceeds to the public
audience hall, Diwan-i-Aam,The same access, continuing
in the south westerly direction, traverses another
quadrangle, passing between Akbar's bedroom,
Khwabgab, on the north and the record room, Daftar
Khana, on the south. It then arrives at the Buland
Darwaza leading directly into the Jami Masjid.
The complex of Fatehpur Sikri includes a series of
independent but linked spaces used for both domestic
and administrative purposes: the ladies quarters, Zanan
Khana, the private audience hall, Diwan-i-Khas, the
adjoining public chamber, Diwan-i-Aam. These spaces
are located to the west and extend in the direction of the
Great Mosque. The entire complex comprises
construction and thematic features that are borrowed
from Hindu and Jain architecture and most of the buildings
are constructed with red sandstone. The exception to
this is the Mausoleum of Salim Chisti where the columns,
screens and the struts of the porch are constructed with
white marble.
It seems probable, but has not been confirmed, that
the marble was veneered over the original form of the
Fig. 4. Buland Danvaza, entrance to the Jami Mosque.
(Source: A. Petruccioli, 1988).
tomb during ShahJahan's reign. S.M. Latif has argued that
the exquisite marble lattice dates from 1606,a year after
Akbar's death. Smith has also observed that the dome is
built of red sand stone, originally coated with cement, but
now veneered with marble. In terms of the materials of
construction, stylistic features and the nature of surface
decoration, this tomb and the Jami Mosque stand apart
from the rest of the complex. Though constructed
primarily in red sandstone, the surface decoration of the
Jami Mosque contains inlay work and the use of color
dominates. The central court of the mosque is flanked by
arcades styled with characteristic pointed arches.
The symbolic, metaphorical and textual
reading of the Diwan-i-Khas at Fatehpur
Sikri
Perhaps the most remarkable and symbolic building
in the complex is the Diwan-i-Khas, located in the court
adjacent to the Diwan-i-Aam. A few historians have
mistakenly suggested that the Zbadat Khana discussed
by Abu Fazl and Badauni was the same as Diwan-i-Khas.
But the description of thezbadat Khana by Abu Fazl and
Badauni suggests a building that is in the emperor's
residential chamber, next to the anup talao.
Of all the buildings constructed during Akbar's reign,
Diwan-i-Khas seems t o be the most curious and
controversial building for the laterday historians. Some
have called it the Shahinshah's "whim;"2isome see it as
representing his "dominion over the four q ~ a r t e r s "and
'~
"his desire for the bizarre."26However, all these sources
do acknowledge the fact that it was Akbar's "whim,"
"desire," or "symbol." Moreover, Abu Fazl notes that the
entire complex of Fatehpur Sikri was dear to the
Shahinshah's heart. Badauni mentions the date on which
the city was laid, but his is a very short account for that
whole year.27
The Diwan-i-Khas, when viewed from the outside
1997
r
<
ACSA EUROPEAN CONFEIENCE
Ir BERLIN
Fia. 5. Fatehour Sikri, domestic and administrative
c&lex.
( ~ d u r c eR.A.
:
Jairazbhoy, 1974).
appears as a double-storied building, with a domed kiosk
at each corner. The interior, however, is a single space
room divided at about half its height by a gallery on
brackets continued around its four sides. A massive
octagonal column, elaborately carved, rises from the
center of the room and extends as high as the sills of the
upperwindows. It is surmounted by an enormous circular
capital composed of three tiers of radiating brackets,
each tier projecting above and in front of that below.
The top of the central pillar is about 10 feet in
diameter. From it four stone beams, each ten feet long,
radiate to the corners of the building. The central capital
receives these radiating "bridges" at the four comers on
the three-tier corbel brackets. Each bracket in this
composition is identical to the brackets that hold the
balconies of the tower of Sidi Bashir's Mosque in
Ahmadabad.
The elaborately decorated column, uniquely
suspended between the lower hall and the and upper
gallery, is in effect Akbar's throne. Tradition affirms that
Akbar, comfortably seated on cushionsandmgs, occupied
this central space, while a minister stood at each corner
of the room awaiting his orders.28The lower section of
the hall was meant for the remaining dignitaries and
scholars of the court who could not directly observe the
emperor but c o d d feel his presence. Some historians say
that this was Akbar's way of insuring that these scholars
could debate issues related to the affairs of the state and
argue amongst each other without the fear of the
Shahinshah. This is probably true because it certainly is a
very peculiar positioning of a throne. In a private audience
hall, due to the nature of the meeting, direct visual
contact is usually maintained, as we can see in almost all
the fortress-palaces constructed by Mughals.
From the outside, the building looks as though it is
two separate spaces, one above the other. On entering
the building one realizes that it is actually a single space.
By suspending the throne in the middle of the single
double-height space, the architect of the Diwan-i-Khas
has created a metaphorical link between the realm of the
kingdom on ear'th and roof of the heaven above. These
Fig. 6. The interior of Diwan-I-Khas. (Source: A. Petruccioli,
1988).
Fig. 7. The central column of Diwan-i-Khas (Source:
A. Petruccioli, 1988).
Fig. 8. Fatehpur Sikri, the central column of Diwan-lKhas, constructed in the late 16th century. (Source: E.
Koch, 1991).
Fig. 9. Ahmadabad, one of the minarets from Sidi Bashir's
mosque, constructed in the late 15th century. (Source: E.
Koch, 1991).
t w o s p h e r e s a r e l i n k e d b y t h e mediating b o d y of E m p e r o r
A k b a r w h o w a s t h e P e s h w a o f t h e k i n g d o m o n m a t t e r s of
s t a t e a s w e l l a s o f religion. S e a t e d u p o n t h e m a i n
architectural o b j e c t i n t h i s building, t h e central capital,
A k b a r a s p i r e d t o b r i d g e t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e "realm a n d
religion."
Besides t h e s y m b o l i c c o n n o t a t i o n s underlying t h e
architecture of Diulan-i-Khas, t h e material of construction
o f m o s t buildings i n F a t e h p u r Sikri c o m p l e x unifies t h e
stylistic contrasts that is created b y t h e u s e of
h e t e r o g e n e o u s architectural styles. T h e r e d s a n d s t o n e is
simultaneously m o l d e d i n t o t h e ornamental motifs of
Gujarat a n d t h e vernacular tradition o f Central Timurid
architecture. T h e sandstone medium harmonized the
u n r e s t r a i n e d eclecticism of artists i n Akbar's reign. It is
n o t just a c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t traditionallv a n d symbolically,
r e d w a s t h e c o l o r reserved f o r t h e t e n t s o f t h e e m p e r o r .
D u r i n g Akbar's reign, architecture b e c a m e a m i r r o r of t h e
affairs o f t h e state a n d his a m b i t i o n t o m e r g e t h e s e affairs
w i t h t h e spiritual n e e d s of his Empire. While his shortlived r e s i d e n c e a t F a t e h p u r Sikri w a s a n architectural
r e s p o n s e t o reflect t h e different regions that c o m p r i s e d
t h e Empire, t h e a r c h i t e c t ~ ~orfeD i w a n - i - K h a s reflects h i s
a m b i t i o n t o b r i d g e t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e "realm a n d
religion. "
content, meaning and spirit of Islamic religious practices as
opposed to their formal observance.
Burke, S.M. Akbar: The Greatest Mogal (Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal Publishers, 1989). Burke cites the Airi-i-Akbari
(Vol. I, p. 496) as his source for this comment.
' Abu Fazl, Akbarnama, opxit., Vol. 3, p. 315.
Badauni, Tarikh-i-Bodayuni, op.cit., p. 51 7.
"bu
Fazl, Akbarnama, op.cit., p. 157.
lo The Krori system was based on the State's claim on the peasant
to which the peasant was not directly responsible, rather, i t was
the responsibility op. the appointed Mansabdar. This was an
innovating reform which is discussed by Srivastva in op.cit., pp.
121-150. Also see, Haig, Wolseley & Burn, Richard (ed.) The
Cambridge Histo9 of India (Cambridge: The University Press,
1937), Vol. IV, p. 543.
l1Abu Fazl,Akbarnama, op.cit., p. 559-600. It is also at this point
that he composes the following verse:
"Hail! the garden of two worlds rejoices because of thee,
The foundation of life is firm because of thee.
Solomon had a ring, thou hast faith, Alexander had his mirror,
thou the code,
Alexander with his mirror, Kaikusru with his cup,
Have not seen what thou art beholding for ~iia~zy
days.
'I
I'
NOTES
I
'
'
Sriwstava. Ashirbadi Lal. Akbar The Great: Political History,
1542-1605 A D . , Vol. I, (Delhi: Shiva Lal Agarwala & Co.,
1962), pp. 23-5 1 .
Havell, E.B. hldiau Architecture (London: 1913), p. 163
Abu Fad. Akbarna~na,(1560- 1590), translated from Persian by
H. Beveridpe. (Calcutta, 1873).
(1575-1605), (New Delhi, 1968).
Badauni. Tarikh-i-Bnclri~uni;
Sufi is a Muslim who lays emphasis upon the importance of the
'
Badauni, Tarikh-i-Badayuni, op.cit.
For details on Babur's temporary conversion to Shiahism and
Humayun's confidence on Bairam Khan, see Srivastava. op.cit.,
pp. 21-151; and Elliot & Dowson (ed.) The History qf India as
told by its own Historians, (1938).
Babur; "Babumama" from excerpts in Elliot & Dowson, ibid.
According to Badauni's account, 1981. Akbar had commissioned hiscourt scholars todraft outa new language which could
be understood and spoken by most of his subjects. The resultant
language seems to be URDU which was a mixture of Sanskrit,
Arabic, and Persian transcribed into an Arabic script for the
affairs of the court.
1997
ACSA E U R O P E A N CONFERENCE
Ir BERLIN
Abul Fazl, op.cit, Vol. 3, p. 55-6
Sewell, The Forgotten Empire, (1900).
Bartoli (1714) as cited in Smith, Vincent. Akbar - The Great
Mogul (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917 and 1926), p. 136.
Smith, Vincent. Ibid., p. 138.
Landes, Joan; Women and the Public Sphere, (1988).
Both Badauni and Abul Fazl have noted a strange occurrence in
the life of the Shahinshah on April 22, 1578, while leading a
qamargah hunt. Badauni describes it as a "strange fit" and Abul
Fazl calls it a "jazba"
Koch, Ebba, Mughal Architecture (Munich: Prestel-Verlag,
1991), p. 56
23
24
2S
?6
27
28
Abu Fazl. Akbarnama, op.cit., Vol. 11, p. 560.
Smith, Vincent. op.cit., p. 444.
Brown, Percy; "The Mughal Period - Akbar the Great"; in
Indian Architecture (Islamic Period), (Bombay, 1942), p. 103.
Haig, Wolseley & Bum, Richard (ed.) The Caritbridge History
of India, (Cambridge: The University Press, 1937), Vol. IV, p.
543.
It is quite possible that this section was heavily edited by Elliot
& Dowson.
Smith, Vincent. op.cit. p. 444.